Broken and Screwed 2 (BS #2)(28)

With a blank face, I said, “Hannah.”

She barked out in laughter. “Beth said you were cool, not that you were funny. Back to my first question, want to go somewhere for dinner?”

“Like the food court?” I glanced around at the fast food shops around us.

“Nah. I mean off-campus. There’s a nice dive bar with $2 burgers. They’re pretty good. Plus, I wouldn’t mind a pitcher of beer.”

“I’m underage.”

She shrugged. “So am I. They’ll let us in. The owner has a boner for Tiffany so all the staff’s been told to be nice to me.” She rolled her eyes. “Little does he know that I hate my sister and he has no shot.”

“If your sister lets Jamie cheat, does she cheat too?”

“No.” She shook her head as her lips tightened against each other. “She should. She thinks she’s practicing for marriage and she doesn’t want any evidence spread around campus. Tiffany believes that if she ever cheats, it’ll get caught on video and there goes her stellar reputation.”

“What’s her reputation?” High class bitch?

She grinned. “You’ve seen the wicked side of her, but trust me. There are a ton of girls who would kill their mothers to be friends with my sister. It’s nice to be Queen Bee in high school, but this is Grant West. Tiffany’s got connections to the crème of the crop.”

“Who’s that?” But I had a good sense who it was.

“The jerks that were just here. Slap in their leader, Jesse Hunt, and Tyler Kurtis, and you’ve got the starting five for our NCAA bound basketball team. Tell me you haven’t noticed that they’re celebrities on campus?”

Oh yes, I have noticed. I shrugged at her.

“There are LOTS of girls who would love an ‘in’ with those guys. Derek’s the only one with a steady girlfriend. You know Jamie’s story. Cord hooks up with Chandra, but he still doesn’t like a title on it. I know he enjoys sleeping around. Tyler’s the same.”

My heart began to pound in my chest. “What about Jesse Hunt?”

She frowned for a split second and her eyes grew thoughtful. “I don’t know much about Hunt. He’s gorgeous, but the guys are pretty tight-lipped about him.”

“Does he party with them?”

“Sometimes he’s out with them and sometimes I’ll see him talking to girls, but I haven’t heard much about him. I don’t think he hangs out around campus much. Since he’s the big shot now, a lot of people crowd him. Can’t say I blame him for hiding out. I saw him at the food court once last year, it was after the NCAA championship game and he was almost mobbed. He had to hide in the bathroom until people finally left him alone.”

“Is that normal?”

“No. People aren’t usually like that, but I think it’s because he’s rarely seen around campus. So when people do see him, they want to go and talk to him. There’s a girl on my floor who has a class with him. She says he always sits in the back and leaves right away. He’s not too social.”

My heart began beating at a fast pace and a fluttering sensation grew in my chest. It wasn’t anger this time.

CHAPTER NINE

It was that night when I learned a pitcher of beer and $2 burgers didn’t end with one pitcher of beer and good conversation. Not with Hannah. When we got to the dive bar, the owner came out to schmooze with her. She was right. He gave off the impression of dirty sex mixed with stalker. We were shown to a back corner booth, between the pool table and the dart games. As dive bars went, it was the prime sitting area. As soon as the owner left, she devoured the first pitcher.

A second was ordered. When it arrived, she poured a glass for me with the order, “You’re drinking tonight.” I started to tell her that I didn’t drink, but she shook her head. “Nope. I don’t care. Getting drunk is a freshmen way of passage. You get to do it the right way, in a hole like this. Others have to do it in a filthy house party so drink up, Elusive Bitch. You’re getting wasted tonight.”

Another argument was on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it. She was right. It was a normal thing to do. I might as well get it out of the way so I reached for my glass. It was empty when I put it down. Hannah went nuts. Her eyes lit up, she filled both of our glasses again and began doing a drumroll on the table while I finished another.

We were wasted by the third pitcher.

This was also the time when the music started and a table of guys arrived in the booth across from ours. It wasn’t long before they were at ours and we had a party going. A game of pool was suggested and Hannah enjoyed being taught how to play. Or she enjoyed that the guy she’d been eyeing curved his body over hers to help her ‘learn’ how to play. I was willing to bet on the next pitcher of beer that she knew pool. After she sunk her third ball, she gave me a wink. Oh yes, she knew how to play the game just fine.

Most of the guys had joined the game of pool, but the quieter one stayed behind. He was in the booth with me. I knew where this was going. When he tried talking to me, he scooted closer. I moved farther away, closer to the end of the booth. He scooted again. I was at the end next, but he didn’t get the hint. He draped an arm around my shoulder and crowded against me.

Hannah saw my dilemma. I waited for her help, nope. She laughed and pointed instead. The rest of his friends turned as well. All of them started laughing at my situation. It seemed to give the guy more encouragement and he pressed harder against me. However, this was the time when two more arrivals showed up.